1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and a program. More particularly, the invention relates to an information processing apparatus that can be operated by touch to execute rapidly and easily the functions desired by a user; to an information processing method for use with such an information processing apparatus; and to a program implementing the functionality of such an information processing method.
2. Description of the Related Art
The information processing apparatus operable by mouse may have different functions assigned to each of so-called right-click and left-click operations performed on its mouse. These operations are each carried out by fingertips pressing, once and immediately releasing one of the right and the left buttons on the mouse.
With the above type of information processing apparatus in mind, suppose that a cursor 12 operable by a mouse 11 is displayed in the position of an icon 13 on a screen of the apparatus as shown in FIG. 1A. In this case, left-clicking the mouse 11 executes the function of selecting the icon 13. If the mouse 11 is right-clicked as shown in FIG. 1B, then the function of displaying a context menu 14 of the icon 13 is carried out. That is, two functions can be assigned to the position of the cursor 12 operated by the mouse 11.
Meanwhile, there exist information processing apparatuses that can be operated by touch with fingertips. One such apparatus typically utilizes a touch panel superposed on its display to detect the position and/or movement of an object touching the panel, thereby executing the functions assigned to that position and/or movement.
On the touch panel-equipped information processing apparatus, the user may touch once, say, that position on the touch panel which corresponds to the icon 13 with any one of his or her fingers as shown in FIG. 2A (index finger in this example). Then the function of selecting the icon 13 or the function of executing the corresponding to the icon 13 is carried out.
On the touch panel-equipped information processing apparatus, however, merely the position of the finger touching the touch panel is detected; the type of the touching finger is not detected. It follows that a plurality of functions cannot be assigned to a single touched position. As a result, whether the index finger touches the panel as shown in FIG. 2A or the middle finger touches it as indicated in FIG. 2B, the same function is executed as long as the touched position is the same.
If the position of the icon 13 is assigned the function corresponding to a left-click on a mouse-operable information processing apparatus, no function corresponding to a right-click can be assigned to the position of the icon 13. Thus if the user wants to execute the function of displaying a context menu 14 assigned to a right-click, it is necessary to perform complicated operations as shown in FIGS. 3A through 3C.
Specifically, if the user wants to execute the function of displaying the context menu 14, the user first touches that position on the touch panel which corresponds to the icon 13 with any one of his or her fingers (index finger in the example of FIGS. 3A through 3C) to execute the function of selecting the icon 13. After this, using any one of his or her fingers, the user touches that position on the touch panel which corresponds to an icon 21 to execute the function of displaying the context menu 14, as shown in FIG. 3B. As a result of this operation, the context menu 14 is displayed as shown in FIG. 3C. As described above, the user needs to touch the touch panel twice with fingertips in order to execute the function of displaying the context menu 14.
Given the above-described bottleneck, the need exists for a touch-operable information processing apparatus capable of having a plurality of functions assigned to the same touched position on the touch panel so as to carry out the functions desired by the user rapidly and easily.
Some touch-operable information processing apparatuses detect the number of the fingers touching the touch panel in order to carry out different functions depending on the number of the detected fingers (e.g., see Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2001-134382).